Their Faithful Encounter
by Chibi Wolf Pup
Summary: Having not seen his best friend in years brings mixed feelings to Momo. He realized that things have changed between them, and that she has changed. As he tried to get things back to normal, it doesn't go as planned. Will they ever be the same? RE-WRITE!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there everyone! I'm back, and I'm here to re-write this story. I think that it could be written much better than it is now, so I've decided to re-write it. And this time, I won't just stop in the middle of the story. Or at least I hope I wont. ^_^**

**So anyway, it's still the same story, though the plot is a little different this time. I've changed a few things about it, but hopefully those changes will be for the better. Well, I hope this version of the story is much better than the first! Read and Review please! ^_^**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Golden Bracelets<strong>

_"No!" Shouted the spiky haired six-year-old boy. "Don't go, please! You can't leave!" He continued running after the girl that was a few feet away from him. Tears ran down his cheeks and onto the pavement underneath his feet. "You can't leave me! You just can't!" His voice cracked, turning it into a squeal more than a shout. _

_The girl stopped and stood there for a minute, and then she finally turned around; she too had tears running down her face. "I'm so sorry." She said, her voice heavy with sorrow. "But, I can't stay. Goodbye…" After looking at the boy for another minute, she turned back around, hoping to never have to see his sad face again, and began walking toward the horizon. _

_"Please don't go!" Pleaded the boy with more tears running down his face. He didn't want her to leave. If she left, then that would mean a piece of him would leave as well. And it meant that he was going to lose probably the closest person to him. No, scratch that. THE closest person to him._

_ So, in hopes of catching up to her, he kept on running, but it was no use. He never got closer to her, and she never got closer to him. The boy opened his mouth to shout another plea, but he was unable to after he felt his foot hit against the back of his other foot, which caused him to trip and fall face first into the pavement._

_When he looked up to see how far the young girl had walked all he could see was a little speck that she had turned into. He was never going to see her again. They were never going to be able to hang out anymore. They weren't going to be able to do anything with each other again. As the boy thought about those things, his head lowered until it faced the ground. "No… Rei…" He said, finally giving up, knowing that nothing was going to possible bring her back. Not back to this town. Not back to their school. But most importantly, not back to him._

Momoshiro woke up with a jolt as he opened his eyes. He looked around, wondering why he had a dream like that. He remembered it perfectly, and to him, it was as if he was actually in the dream. Well, you probably could say he was in the dream. What happened in the dream had actually happened to him before, but that was ten years ago. He shouldn't have remembered that event that perfectly, and he shouldn't have remembered her.

His breathing was coming short, and there was a cold sweat running down his face. He ran an hand through his hair, trying to convince himself that the dream was nothing. It was probably just something that his subconscious just thought of while he was asleep. But still, what did it mean? He hadn't thought of her in years, but as he continued to think about it, he realized that he had had that same dreams many times before. All of them were the same. Except for this one. It was different in a way that most people probably wouldn't have noticed. The difference with this one was that everything was so vivid. Not that any of the other one's weren't vivid, it was just that this one was even more. It actually felt as if he was actually there, on that day, and at that time.

_But why did I dream about that?_ He thought as he arched an eyebrow. _I mean, I haven't thought about her, or that day in years. So, why now? Does it mean something?_ He shook his head at the thought. Thinking that it was just something that happened.

His thoughts were interrupted by a feminine voice coming from the other side of his bedroom door. "Momoshiro wake up. You're going to be late for school if you don't hurt." Said his mother.

Momo blinked his amethyst a few times, trying to process what his mother had just told him. He glanced at the clock and then stared at it, as if to see if it would have the answer to his question. But then his eyes went wide when he saw what time it was. "Oh no!" He shouted, jumping out of the bed in a hurry. He became tangled in his covers and fell face first into the hardwood floor. "This has to be one of the worst mornings in the history of mornings." He huffed out a sigh as he stood back up and began getting ready.

After he had done is daily morning routine he looked at the clock and groaned once again. _Now I'm going to be late picking Ryoma up._ He thought. _And he's going to want to kill me._ This really wasn't a good morning for him. He just hoped that the day wouldn't get worse than it already was.

He ran down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab himself a peach. He waved to his parents and shouted a 'bye' to them before going outside to retrieve his bike from the garage, and then went to go to Ryoma's house.

As he got closer to where Ryoma lived, he could see a figure standing on the sidewalk with its foot tappng the ground impatiently. Momo screeched to a stop as he pulled up the where Ryoma was and put a goofy grin on his face and nervously scratched the back of his head. "Hey Ryoma." Said Momo with a hint of hesitation in his voice.

Ryoma just stood there looking at Momo with a not to friendly look on his face. _Maybe I'm just overreacting,_ thought Momo, _maybe he's not that mad._ Wrong.

"Where were you Momo? And what took you so long?" Ryoma glared at the spiky haired boy and folded his arms. He wanted an explanation as to why he was late.

"Look, I'm sorry Ryoma. I've just been having a pretty bad morning. So, can we just head to school now." It wasn't really what Ryoma had expected to come from Momo, but he would take it. He just wanted to go to school so that they wouldn't be late.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow at him, and thought that something was wrong with his friend, but he didn't think about too much. He sighed and shook his head. "Alright, it doesn't sound like you, but I'll take it." He jumped onto the bars that were on the back of Momo's bike and then held onto Momo's shoulders. "Come on, let's go. I don't want to be late for school."

It was a particularly quiet ride to the school, and that's when Ryoma knew that something was wrong with Momo. Usually he would be talking Ryoma's ear off, but now he was as quiet as ever. And he was distracted by something, and it must have been something that really bothered Momo considering the fact that he almost ran into two mailboxes on the way to the school. Though Ryoma was worried about his friend, he also worried about if he was going to make it to school without going to the hospital first.

The two had made it to school, but they were a few minutes late, and when Ryoma looked at Momo to yell at him, he stopped. Momo stood there staring at the ground with a distant look in his eyes. "Momo." Said Ryoma, trying to get his attention, but it didn't seem to work. He was beginning to get irritated now. "Momo!" He shouted.

That caught Momo's attention. He looked up from the ground and looked at Ryoma. Again, he put a goofy grin on his face and nervously scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, what's up Ryoma?"

Ryoma contemplated what he was going to say, but then decided that it would be best if he just left the matter alone. Maybe Momo was really just having a bad morning. He shook his head. "It's nothing. Never mind." He shorter one of the two turned around and began walking to where his class would be. "I'll see you at practice." And then he was gone.

Momo stood there for a minute watching as Ryoma walked off. I reminded him of the dream again. He shook the thought away. He knew Ryoma knew that something was wrong with him, but he was confused as to why Ryoma hadn't asked him what was wrong. But then again it was Ryoma, and he wasn't much of a talker. But still, the way Ryoma looked at him told him that he knew something was up, and that he wanted to figure out what it was. Momo sighed as he thought about it. He looked at his watch and saw that he was fifteen minutes late for a class, so he ran into the building and toward his class.

Throughout the day his dream kept reappearing in his head. He was being quieter than usual, and he wasn't acting as immature as he usually was. One of his teachers even came up to him and asked if everything was all right. Actually, a few people had asked him that question, but he always replied with the same answer. "I'm fine. There's nothing wrong, so you don't have to worry about me." And then he would walk off.

Ryoma had warned the regulars that there was something funny going on with Momo, and as the day went on, the rest of the regulars were able to see that Ryoma was right, and now all of them were beginning to worry. They wondered how he was going to act during practice now; hopefully nothing was going to change about the way he played.

When it was time for practice all of the regulars were in the locker room getting changed for practice. Well, at least all except one of them. Momo was late, and for some reason all of them had expected it. When he finally did come, everyone was still in the locker room. As soon as Momo walked in, all eyes were on him.

Momo looked at all of them, feeling nervous from all of the eyes that were on him. They all had their arms crossed over their chest, and that all had a little but of a glare in their eyes. "Sorry I'm late everyone. I got caught up with a few things." He said as he walked over to his locker. They were all still looking at him.

"Alright Momo," said Ryoma, "you've been acting weird all day, and you haven't been yourself. So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Sure I've been a little out of it today, but that doesn't mean anything's wrong. I've just been having a bad day that's all."

"But even if you've had a bad day you wouldn't be acting like this." Said Kaidoh. "If you were having a bad day, you probably would have either been mad or sad all day, and by what Ryoma's said, you haven't been either of those two. He said you were more calm and distant today."

Momo glared at Kaidoh, suddenly mad that he had said something like that. "Who asked you anyway Viper?"

Kaidoh hissed like a snake, but didn't say anything. Tezuka threatened to make him run more laps if argued with Momo while they were trying to figure out what was wrong with him. He wanted to say something to him so bad though.

"You know, he does have a point about that." Said Fuji.

Momo glared at Fuji, wondering why he had to have any input in the matter.

Oishi, being the mother hen that he was, had a worried look on his face. "Momo, we're worried about you. Why won't you tell us what's been bothering you?"

Momo had got done changing into his practice clothes a few minutes later and then looked at all of them. "I told you all nothing is wrong with me. What's so wrong about me wanting to be quiet for once?" He asked, seriousness evident in his voice.

"But Momo!" Came the whining voice of Kikumaru. He slung his shoulder over Momo's shoulder, just like he does to Ryoma, and shook his slightly. "It's not normal for you to act like this! You're not quiet, so everything's wrong with you being as quiet as you are!"

Though Kikumaru could act like a child at times, he was actually making sense this time. They all agreed on what the red head said and nodded their heads. Kikumaru felt as if he had accomplished something after seeing all of his teammates nod their heads.

Momo sighed and got Kikumaru's arm from around his shoulder. "I told you already nothing's wrong. Why are you worrying so much?" He asked, not wanting to tell them about the dream that he had had last night. "You all shouldn't be worried about something like me. Nationals are coming up soon, so we need to worry about that. Not me."

He had a point to what he had said, and everyone knew that. But still, he was a teammate and they weren't just going to stand around and do nothing about it. So after a minute of thinking, they all just decided to just drop the subject for a while, but they weren't going to forget about it.

All of them were a little frustrated at the moment, except for Tezuka, but then again he always had a calm and collective demeanor. As they all began to walk out of the locker room, Taka decided that he wanted to speak up. "Why don't we all go to my dad's restaurant after practice today?" He said. "We've come up with a new flavor for a sushi." He also thought that it'd be a good way to have Momo calm down, but he didn't say that.

"Hey, that's not such a bad idea." Said Oishi. "Alright, that's what all of us will do after practice."

Even though Momo didn't want to go, he couldn't turn down good food. His stomach just wouldn't stand for it. So, everyone agreed to go to Taka's dad's restaurant after they were all done with practice.

Momo was still a little distracted as practice went on, and that just built onto their worry. He wasn't doing any of his dunk smashes, and he was missing east returns. He tried not to act so distracted though, but it didn't seem as if it was working very well. He just wished that he had never had that dream the night before, and he wished that he didn't distract him so much. But why was it distracting to him? Maybe because it was about her? Or maybe it was just because that was something that had actually happened to him that he didn't want to remember? He didn't know, nor did he really want to. He just really wanted to get the day over with.

When practice ended and when all of them changed back into their school uniforms, they all began walking down the street down to the sushi restaurant. They were actually having a pretty good time there, and the new sushi that Taka and his dad had come up with was amazing. Though, everyone kept saying that Fuji was ruining his since he put wasabi all over it. Momo even seemed to be a little bit back to normal. He was actually talking more, and he didn't have that much of a distant look on his face. Taka smiled as he looked at Momo and saw that he was a little better than before. He knew that it was a good idea for him to suggest that they come there.

"Alright, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Thanks for coming!" Said Taka as he waved to all of the regulars as they walked out of the restaurant

They all shouted back their replies and as they walked down the sidewalk, they were about to go their separate ways, but then they all stopped when they heard a noise. It sounded like a girl was yelling at someone, but the girl didn't sound too happy. They all decided to check it out, and when they saw the scene in front of them, none of them were too happy with what they saw.

In the middle of the sidewalk there were three boys, who looked pretty built, surrounding a petite looking girl. The girl looked like she was struggling to get something, but none of the regulars could figure out what. The three boys seemed to be enjoying what ever they were doing to her though, and none of the regulars like it. Especially Momo.

Though he didn't know the girl, he still hated it when guys picked on girl. To him, it showed just how weak the guy was, and how much of a wimp that he was. So, Momo's anger was beginning to rise as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

"Give it back!" Shouted the girl as she reached for the item that the tallest boy had in his hand. But, she couldn't really reach it because one, she was too short, and two, the same boy had his hand on the top of the girls head holding her down.

"Then reach for it." Said the boy who was just standing to the left of her with his arms folded. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, and the three of them laughed.

Oishi looked at all of his teammates with a worried look on his face. "What should we do? We can't just leave her there with them. They may hurt her."

All of them agreed with what their vice-captain had said. But what could they do? Then a thought came to Momo's mind. He put his tennis on the ground and unzipped it and brought out his tennis racket and a tennis ball. Everyone watched him, and they all had a feeling about what he was going to do. He tossed the ball up in the air, as it he was going to serve the ball, and hit it as hard as he could.

The ball went soaring through the air right toward the boy who was holding his hand on top of the girls head. None of them noticed the ball until it whizzed right by them, but it was too late. The ball his the boy right in the face, and it sent him stumbling backwards and taking his hand off of the girl, while also dropping the item that he had in his hand. The girl stumbled back a little as well, but she was able to keep her balance.

The two boys that were still standing and the girl all turned to look at the regulars. They all had angry looks across their face. "Hasn't your parents ever taught you never to pick on a girl." Said Fuji as he also grabbed his tennis racket and a tennis ball.

The boys flinched as they say all of them grab a tennis racket and a tennis ball, but the girl seemed unfazed by it all. "W- who asked you?" Stuttered one of the boys. The one who had just spoken, tried to puff his chest out as if to seem intimidating, but to no avail. He had already messed up by stuttering, so the regulars we not faltered by either of the boys.

Momo took a step closer to the three that was in front of him, and again the two boys flinched. "Nobody." He said, taking another step. "But I don't like it that you're picking on this girl. I'm sure she hasn't done anything to you." And another step. "So, why don't you just leave before the rest of us send out tennis balls after you."

They seemed to get the hint, so as the rest of the regulars raised their rackets, the two boys grabbed the one that had gotten hit by the ball, and then ran off. Momo smirked as he watched them run away like the cowards that they are. Then when he realized that the girl was still there sitting on the ground, he extended a hand toward her. "Hey, are you okay? They didn't hurt you did they?"

The girl tilted her head a little, and gave Momo a confused look. With the arch of and eyebrow, she shook her head. "No, they didn't hurt me. I'm fine." She said. She sat there for a minute, looking at Momo as if to try to figure him out. When she finally snapped out of her thoughts, she took Momo's hand and then stood up. She brushed off the dirt that had collected on her white shorts, and then looked at all of the boys that were there.

"Thanks for your help though. I really appreciate it." She said, bowing her head toward all of them.

"It was no problem." Said Oishi. "We just wanted to help a girl in distress."

His comment made the girl laugh a little. Momo arched an eyebrow when he heard the girl laugh. He knew that he had heard it from some where before, but he didn't know where. It seemed a little weird to him. He heard people laugh all the time, but for some reason hers really stuck out. And the way she looked. She reminded Momo of the girl that he had dreamed about the other night. But he didn't think that that could be her. _No way,_ he thought, _it can't be her. She moved away years ago, and why would she be back anyway? But still, she looks just like her. Same long brown hair. Same bright green eyes. And they sound the same. _

His thoughts were interrupted by Kikumaru's voice. "Hey Momo." He said. Momo turned and looked at the red head. "We're all leaving now. Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." He said. He turned back to the girl who had just got done picking up the item that one of the boys had. Though he only caught a glimpse of it, he could tell that it was something gold. And it looked a little like a bracelet. A golden bracelet. He had something like that. His suspicions were beginning to rise now. _Now I'm just over thinking it. A lot of people have golden bracelets. And I'm sure she's not an exception. _He shook his head again to clear his head.

He turned back around and then began walking toward where he lived. It was beginning to get late outside, and he knew that if he didn't get home soon that his parents would begin to worry. And he didn't feel like having to hear his mom yell at him. His head was hurting from all of the thinking that he was doing. But, he didn't get far before he heard a voice behind him. "Um, excuse me." Said the voice.

He turned back around and saw that it was the girl that he had just seen. "Oh hey." Said Momo. As he looked at the girl, he saw that instead of a confused look that once adorned her face, there was an embarrassed look upon her face.

It took a few seconds for the girl to say something, but when she finally found the right words, she looked Momo in the eyes. "Now, I know that this will sound a little crazy," she started, "but you seem really familiar to me. I don't know why, but it just seems like I've known you from somewhere."

When Momo didn't say anything, the girl had a feeling that she had said something wrong. Her faced turned a little pink, and when she noticed that, she turned her head to side. She didn't want this boy that she didn't even know, or at least she thought she didn't know, see her blush. It was too embarrassing to her. "What am I saying? We've probably never crossed paths before." She looked back up at him, "I'm sorry for wasting your time. I guess I'll let you go now." She turned around and began walking.

"You know, I was thinking the same thing." Said Momo as she turned to look at the girl. The girl turned back around in a swift motion with a surprised look upon her face. Momo took a step toward her, hoping that he would be able to get some answers from her. "You seem familiar to me too. At first I thought it was weird, and I thought that you'd think that I was crazy if I asked you. So, that's why I didn't." He paused for a minute as if to collect his thoughts.

Before Momo could say anything else, the girl lifted her wrist and the bracelet that was on it was revealed. And as Momo had suspected before, the bracelet was gold, but as he looked closer at it, he saw that there was something engraved in it. The bracelet also looked familiar to him. He looked away from the bracelet and at the girl.

A saddened look came over the girls face as she saw the confused look on Momo's face. "I knew it couldn't be true." She said, disappointment evident in her voice. "I'm sorry for wasting your time." She began to pull her arm back, but before she could get it to her side, Momo had grabbed it.

"Wait." Said Momo. The girl looked at him, wondering what he was going to do next. He looked at the bracelet again, and looked at the name that was engraved into it. His eyes widened as he read the name. He knew this bracelet. Engraved into the bracelet was the name 'Momo'. "My name." He said in a low voice. He was shocked. He knew this bracelet, and he knew this girl.

The girl wasn't able to catch what Momo had said. "Excuse me?" She asked. Now it was her turn to be confused.

Momo looked away from the bracelet again, but this time instead of a confused look, there was a smile on his face. "It's you." He said. "It's really you." Still with a confused look on her face, the girl tilted her head a little. Did he know her, or not? "You name, it's Rei Snow right?" Asked Momo.

The girl nodded her head. "Yes, that's my name."

Momo's eyes seemed to light up as he listened to what the girl had said. That was her name, and it was her. But, he said that she had a confused look on her face, so she probably didn't remember his name. That made him slightly sad, but he didn't show it. But then again, a lot of people probably knew he name, so he needed to make things a little clearer. So, he reached on his pocket and pulled something out. It was another bracelet. Just like the one that Rei has. Gold, and it has a named engraved into it. The name that was engraved in it said 'Rei'.

Rei walked a little closer to looked at it, and she gasped when she read her name. She looked at Momo for a second before she finally got the connection. "Momoshiro Takeshie?" She asked, hoping that it was him.

Momo nodded his head. "Yeah, that's me. Long time no see huh?" He said with a slight chuckle in his voice. He couldn't believe that it was her, and after all these years.

Rei's eyes started to water slightly as she looked at the spiky haired boy in front of her. A smile spread across her lips. Memories of her childhood started to flood her mind. She began to remember all of the time that Momo and herself would get into trouble, and how the both of them would do just about everything with each other. "Momo!" She shouted as she wrapped her hands around Momo's mid section.

A slight blush came upon Momo's tan face, but then it slowly started to fade away. He hugged her back, happy that it was actually her, and not just a figment of his imagination. It was really her.

When the two released their holds on each other, Momo looked Rei up and down. She had definitely grown over the four years. Her brown hair that use to touch her shoulders, was now long enough to touch the middle of her back. There was also a blonde color to the tip of her side-swiped bang. Her dark brown eyes were just as big and bright as ever, and her tan skin looked smoother than Momo remembered. And in Momo's opinion, she had a nice body. She only went up to Momo's shoulders. She had all the right curves in all the right places, and she didn't have a flat chest either. She was also a little short though. All in all, she was pretty attractive.

"Well you sure have grown over the years." Said Rei with a hint of amusement in her voice. She poked his chest a few times and then laughed. "You actually have some muscles now." A slight giggle erupted from her voice.

Momo scratched the back of his head and chuckled a little. "Yeah well," he said, "I have been working out a lot over the years, so I guess that helped in a way."

A smirk appeared on Rei's face. She opened her mouth to say something back, but stopped when she felt her pocket begin to vibrate. She pulled out her cell phone and saw that she had a text. It read, 'where are you?' She sighed as she flipped the phone close and put it back in her pocket. "That was dad. He's beginning to worry about me again." Again, she sighed.

"So your dad's still overprotective of you?" Asked Momo with a hint of amusement in his voice.

She nodded head as her smirk reappeared on her face. She looked over at Momo with a sly look. "Yeah, though most of it is your fault."

"My fault?" Asked Momo with a questioning look.

Again, she nodded her head. "Yep. My dad always said that ever since I met you that's when my rebellious side began to show." The thought made her laugh slightly. "And he still doesn't trust you either." She winked.

"Eh, I kinda figured that." Said Momo with a laugh in his voice. "He was always a little wary when I was around you."

Rei nodded. "Yeah, but he's gotten a little better about it. You kind of mellowed him out a little, but he still acts a little crazy when I'm around boys. Especially ones that he doesn't know."

They stood there for a few more minutes just looking at each other, but then Rei looked away. "I better get going." She began walking away and then turned back around. "See you later." She waved, and then continued walking away until she completely out of Momo's sight.

As Momo watched her walk away, a familiar feeling of sadness washed over him. Watching her walk away reminded him of the day when the two separated from each other. He thought that it was crazy to finally see her again, or at least see her here. In actuality though, he wasn't sure if he would ever see her again. They didn't stay in touch with each other because both of them were too young to have phones for themselves, and they didn't write letters either. So, once Rei left, they never heard from each other again.

Momo sighed as he turned around and started heading home. He wondered if he would see her again, and he wondered how long she was going to be there for. He hoped that they would be able to hang out like they use to. And once he got home, he was in such a daze, that he didn't even say anything to his parents. He just went straight up to his room and into bed. He stared up at the ceiling as he began to remember everything that him and Rei had done together, but as the hours passed, his eyes began to close until they were completely closed, and Momo's breathe became soft with snores.

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><p><strong>Well, what did you think? A little better then the last one I hope. ^_^<strong>

**Anyway, the second chatper will be coming up soon! Thanks for reading, and please review. I would love some constructive critisim so that I can get better my writing skills. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, so, here's chapter two of this story. Like the last chapter, I've completely re-written this chapter, so hopefully it'll be much better than the first.**

**Well, read and review please! ^_^ And I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

As Momo walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, a wide smile adorned his face. Once his parent's saw this, they knew that something was wrong. Though he was usually a happy person, he wasn't really a morning person, and it was hard to get a smile out of him before he went to school. "Mornin' mom, dad." He said as he walked to the fridge and began searching for something to eat.

His parents gave each other questioning looks, wondering what was wrong with their son. "Well you sure do seem to be in a good mood this morning." Said his father as he sipped his coffee. He looked toward the clock and then back at Momo. "And you sure are up earlier than most mornings."

Momo turned to his dad as he bit into an apple. He swallowed and then said, "What do you mean by that? I'm always happy."

"Not in the morning you're not." Said his mom.

He took another bite and then scratched the back of his head. "Well, let's just say something happened yesterday that I'm still trying to figure out. I mean, what happened made me happy, but I'm just a little shocked."

"Care to tell your mother and I what happened?"

He nodded, trying to figure out how to tell them what happened yesterday. He told them everything in a quick manner, and once he was finished, he laughed at the looks that his parent's were giving him. "You two should see the looks on your face. Their priceless."

"Wait." Said his father. "So, let me get his straight. Your childhood best friend Rei Snow, is back?"

Momo nodded. "I know. Shocking right?"

His dad leaned back in his chair. "Wow. I never thought I live to see the day when she would come back." He said, mostly to himself.

"What is she doing back here?" Asked his Mom.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. I didn't get the chance to ask, but I'm hoping to see her again." Again, a smile appeared upon his face. He looked at the clock. "I better get going. Ryoma should be ready by the time I make it to his house. I'll see you two later."

And as usual, he picked Ryoma up from his house and headed to school. But unlike yesterday, he was in a much better mood. He was actually paying attention to where he was going and not almost running into mailboxes and garbage cans. And as usual, Ryoma didn't comment about his attitude. He was just happy that Momo was being himself again.

Once at school, Oishi caught up with the two and told them that Ryuzaki wanted them to be at afternoon practice early today. Both Momo and Ryoma asked him why, but Oishi just told them to be early. This peaked Momo's interest, making him wonder what was going on during practice.

School came and went, and when it was time for practice, everyone was actually early. Ryuzaki was surprised that all of them were early, but nonetheless, she had to get down to business. She looked at all the regulars that were huddles together in the middle of one of the courts and then clapped her hands together to get their attention. "Alright everyone gather around."

All of the regulars stopped their conversations once they heard their coach clap their hands. They walked over to her, and as usual, Tezuka stood beside her. Once she knew that she had all of their attentions, she smiled. "As you all know, National's are coming up in a few months and you all have been practicing very hard for it. But, now, I think that you all need to see how a high ranking tennis player plays the game."

"Aw, but Ryuzaki-sensei," wined Kikumaru. "We already see a high ranking player play and that's Tezuka."

A small chuckle escaped Ryuzaki's lips. "You're right about that Kikumaru. Tezuka is an excellent player, but I wasn't talking about his level. I'm talking about someone who is at a much higher level than that. Someone who's going to be participating in the Hiro Tournament that is taking place in about three months."

"Wait, the Hiro Tournament?" Said Oishi, surprise evident in his voice. "Isn't that tournament only for tennis players who play at a very high level?"

Ryuzaki nodded her head. "Correct Oishi." She said. "You have to have a special invitation in order to participate in this tournament, and it's extremely hard to get an invitation. And if you're lucky enough to get one, that means that someone who either sponsors, or conducts the tournament have seen that person play before, and believe that that person is good enough to participate in this tournament."

As Momo listened to what Ryuzaki was saying, he thought that this tournament sounded familiar in some way, but he couldn't figure out why. It was odd to him, but it seemed as if he had heard all of this once before.

"That sound's awesome!" Shouted Kikumaru as he jumped up and down.

"You actually know someone who's going to be in that tournament?" Asked Fuji. Hearing about this contest was beginning to get interesting to him, as well as Ryoma.

Again, she nodded her head. "Yes I do, and I've known her for a while now, and her coach."

"Her?" Asked Inu as he continued writing things in his book.

"Yes Inu. The person I'm talking about just happens to be a girl, and she's actually Momo and Kaidoh's age." As she said their names, Momo blinked his eyes in confusion, and Kaidoh just hissed.

"Anyway, I want all of you to take notes about what this girl does and how she does things. She's an incredible player, and I'm sure that watching her will help you all." She turned around and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Okay, you can come out now!" She shouted.

Two figures emerged from the side of the building; one of them young, and the other kind of old. Once the two figures got closer, all of the regulars, except for Kaidoh, Ryoma, and Tezuka, gasped. Momo went wide eyes once he saw Rei walk over to them with a smile planted on her face.

Ryuzaki turned back to the team and gave then a questioning look, but shook the thought away. "I'd like to introduce you all to Emi Kaizu," she said, pointing to the woman who looked to be in her late thirties, early forties. "And this is Rei Snow. The one who's going to be participating on the Hiro Tournament." She pointed to Rei.

Rei waved to all of them with a smile on her face. "Hey guys." She said, but as she got a closer look at them, she recognized them. "Hey, I remember you guys. You all were the ones that helped me out last night. Thanks again for that." And as she looked at all of them again, her eyes landed on Momo. "Momo?" A smirk appeared upon her face. "So, you're a regular on this team." She lifted her nose in the air as if to mock Momo. "I'm impressed."

Momo's eyebrow twitched. "And what's that suppose to mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing. I just didn't think you'd be good enough." There was a playful tone in her voice, so Momo knew that she was only joking. But still, he didn't like being called out in front of his friends.

The team watched the two converse with each other, but wondered how they were able to talk like that. They had only met yesterday right? Kikumaru looked at them with a tilted head. "Hey! How come I get the feeling that you two met before yesterday?"

"Because we have." Said Momo with a smile on his face. "We've known each other for years."

"Then how come you didn't tell us that yesterday?" Whined Kikumaru.

"Because I didn't know it was her." Said Momo.

Ryuzaki sighed as she looked at them. "Alright!" She shouted, which made everyone look at her. "Now, doesn't anyone have any questions for Rei before we get started?" She asked, hoping to get practice started soon.

Rei looked around and then saw that the smallest one out of the group had stepped up. She raised an eyebrow at this. "You're really going to be participating on the Hiro Tournament?" He asked, with a challenging look in his eyes.

Rei nodded. "Yep, and I know that it's a little hard to believe I, a sixteen-year-old girl, would be taking place in a tournament as prestigious as this one, but, it's true." She shrugged her shoulders, as if this matter wasn't all that serious, but, in actuality, it was.

Ryoma arched an eyebrow and then turned back around, and didn't say anything after that.

"Well, since it seems that no one else has any questions," started Ryuzaki, "let's begin practice."

So, practice went on as normal. Well, at least a little bit. Rei watched all of the regulars and gave all of them pointers, and told them things that could possible help them. She was actually impressed at how well all of them were, and she was surprised to see how much Momo had improved since she had last seen him, which was about six years ago. Ryoma seemed to test Rei the most out of the whole team though, and she was beginning to question it. Maybe it was because she was going to be in the Hiro Tournament. She didn't know, but the way he asked her about it made her wonder if he thought that the tournament wasn't as prestige as everyone makes it out to be. So, as if to prove him wrong, she showed all of them a few things that she could do.

All in all, she proved that she was worthy of being in the tournament, without even having to play a match with anyone, though, she thought that doing that would be pretty fun. But unfortunately, Emi told her she wasn't going to be able to have a match with anyone, and no matter how much Rei wined about it, she wasn't going to change her mind about that. And Rei knew exactly why too. As she thought about it, she subconsciously placed her hand on her left side and looked down at it.

Practice ended about an hour later and Ryuzaki just went over the basics. She reminded them about nationals, and told them to make sure that they keep safe and healthy. After her little speech, everyone nodded their heads and turned and walked toward the locker room. Rei continued to stare at the small building until she felt someone lay a hand on her shoulder. She flinched a little, surprised that someone was beside her and she didn't notice. "You certainly are thinking about something hard." Said Ryuzaki with a smile on her face as she looked down at Rei.

Rei relaxed a little and smiled at the Seigaku tennis coach, but shook her head. "No, not really thinking about anything." She said. "Just…" She didn't know what to say after that, so she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

Ryuzaki smiled warmly at Rei. She didn't know why, but she felt a little bad for her. Emi had walked up to the two of them, wondering what they were talking about. "So, how long are you going to be staying here for?" Asked Ryuzaki.

"Until the Hiro Tournament is over." Answered Rei. "So, just a little over three months. But the day after the tournament, I'm going back home."

Ryuzaki was a little shocked to hear that they were going to be leaving so soon after the tournament. "Why leave so soon after the tournament? Surely you'll be exhausted after all of this. Why don't you stay for a few extra days?"

Rei sighed and shook her head. "I wish I could stay longer," she said, "but I just can't. I want to get back home and see the team as soon as possible." She knew that once she got back to her real home she would be bombarded with questions, from not only her team, but from everyone else who knew she was in the tournament.

"Oh yeah. I remember Emi saying something about you being the captain of the tennis team at your school. I guess they're pretty excited about having one of their own participating in this tournament." Said Ryuzaki.

A slight laugh escaped Rei's lips as she thought about her team. Actually, while she was watching the Seigaku regulars, she was reminded a lot about her team. "Yeah, they're happy that I'm here and doing this, so, I know I've got their support even though they're not here." The thought reassured her a little.

Emi smiled and then sighed, making Rei and Ryuzaki look at her. "Well Rei, I think it's time that we start heading back to the apartment. You know how your mom gets when she makes dinner and nobody's there to eat it."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Said Rei with a little groan in her voice. She turned to face Ryuzaki again. "I guess I'll see and the guys later then. Tell them I said bye."

"I sure will."

Rei turned around and walked over to Emi's car. After starting the car and beginning to head off the campus of the school, Rei looked back over at the tennis courts and saw the figured of the regulars come out. When she saw Momo, she sighed and then faced forward again.

"You know you can't get close to him while you're here right?" Said Emi, not taking her eyes off of the road.

"I know." Said Rei in a disappointed tone. "But I still don't understand why I can't." She mumbled while crossing her arms.

"You know the reason why Rei."

"But how come?" Shouted Rei, now looking at her coach. "I still don't understand. He was my best friend when we were kids. Why can't I be around him as much now? I only have three months to see him, and I miss him."

Emi sighed. "Because Rei, you'll get attached to him again, and that'll just distract you when the tournament comes around. And you know that when it's time for us to leave it'll just make leaving harder for the both of you."

What Emi had said about it being harder to leave was true, and Rei did know that, but she still wanted to catch up on things with Momo, but she also knew that she was barely going to be out of her coaches sight, and she hated being watched like some little kid. "I know things would be a little harder when it's time to leave, but we're not little kids anymore. We're mature now, and we'll handle it much better than we did back then."

_That's what you think,_ thought Emi. Again, she sighed. "Rei, you just have to trust me on this one okay?"

Rei huffed and leaned back against her seat. "Fine." She said in a stubborn way.

Emi looked at her tennis star, feeling sorry for her. She had a feeling that Rei was going to go against her wishes, but she wasn't going to be able to do anything about it. Rei was stubborn, and persistent, and she wasn't going to give up on this so easily. She just didn't want to see Rei get hurt.

Coming out of the locker room, Momo looked around to see if he could find Rei, but sadly, he didn't. Ryuzaki had found him looking around for something, and already had a feeling of what he was looking for. So, she told him that Rei and Emi had already left. He nodded his head and said that he'd see all of them tomorrow. He wished he would have came out a little earlier though. He wanted to talk to Rei since they hadn't had much time to talk since she came back.

During the walk home, he kept on thinking about Rei. Though, the question that came to his mind again was how long was she going to be there for? She hadn't mentioned it to any of them, but then again none of them had asked her about it.

When he got home that evening, he told his parents about him meeting up with Rei the day before, and today. To say the least, they were shocked. Like Momo, they hadn't expected to see or hear from her ever again. But nonetheless, they were happy, especially Momo.

Trying to fall asleep was a little difficult for the spiky haired boy that night, and it was only because all his thoughts were plagued with thoughts of his childhood best friend. Not that it disturbed him in any kind of way; it just worried him a little for some reason. He groaned as he turned to look at the clock, which read one o'clock in the morning, thinking that it was much to early to be up. So, finally giving up on the idea of falling back asleep any time soon, he jumped out of bed, went to his drawers, pulled out a shirt and a pair of shorts and put them on.

He snuck down the stairs of the house as quietly as possible, as to not wake his parents. Once he knew that he wasn't going to get caught, he smiled, and then walked out of the door. Doing this kind of reminded him of what he use to do when he was little. He always use to sneak out of the house, but he always use to meet up with Rei. Memories started to flood his mind, but he smiled at them, especially one night.

**Flashback**

"_Rei! Come on before we get caught!" Whispered the seven year-old Momoshiro. He was currently running down the street after getting Rei to finally sneak out of her house. _

"_Momo, are you so sure about this?" Asked Rei as she caught up with Momo. _

"_I'm positive!" he shouted. "And besides, you need to get out more. Or at least do something crazy like this."_

_She shot him a look. "So, you consider sneaking out of the house at midnight something crazy?"_

_He smiled as he looked at her and then nodded his head in agreement. "Yep! Now, come on." He grabbed Rei's wrist and started running again, with Rei being dragged along. _

"_Where are we even going?" She asked, trying to keep up with him. This being her first time sneaking out of her house made her a little wary about where they were going. And she was with Momo, so she knew that they were bound to get into some kind of trouble. _

"_You'll see soon, so stop worrying about it. You're not going to get into any trouble."_

_Reu puffed out her cheeks. "I'm not so sure about that. You know how my parents can be when it comes to me, especially my dad. He would lose his mind if he found out that I was gone!" The very thought worried the young girl, and it made her almost stop moving her legs along with Momo's. But, she knew that if she did that Momo would just pull her along with him. _

"_I told you to stop worrying so much!" Said Momo, shooting Rei a reassuring glance. "Your parents are asleep right now, and I doubt if they're going to wake up. You're not going to get caught. Trust me."_

_Rei sighed. "Alright fine. I trust you." She began to laugh shortly after, as well as Momo. The two kids continued running down streets and roads, making sure that they were out of sight of everyone that was walking the streets, though there weren't very many people out at that time of night. When they entered the park, Momo slowed down into a walk, making Rei do the same thing. "The park?" She asked, freeing her hand from his grasp and setting them on her hips. "You pestered me to leave my house just to take me to the park?" She gave him an incredulous look, confused about the whole ordeal._

_Momo laughed, looking down at his best friend, and shaking his head. "Yeah, but the park is different at night, and I wanted to show you something."_

"_How can it be much different from the daytime? The only difference I can tell is the fact that it's much darker around here. The lights aren't even on now."_

"_That's not the point." He grabbed Rei's hand and walked over to a hill and started ascending it. This just confused Rei even more. "You'll see in a few seconds." He continued pulling the girl up the hill, and she didn't complain about it. What surprised her most though, was what she saw when they had finally gotten up to the top of the hill. _

_Her eyes widened in surprise and shock as she looked up at the sky. The moon was full and shining with all it's glory, and the stars were shining bright in the night sky. "See, this is what I wanted to show you," said Momo, standing beside Rei also looking up at the sky. _

_Rei turned her attention back to Momo. "How did you find out about this? It's beautiful."_

_Momo shrugged his shoulders. "This isn't my first time sneaking out of my house at night, so I've been doing this for a while now. I always come here to look up at the sky. I don't know why, but it always calms me down. And I wanted to bring you here to show you this. I just knew that you would love it!"_

_Rei smiled. "I can understand why you like coming here so much," she said, turning to look at Momo again. She leaded against him and closed her eyes. "Thank you for bringing me here." Her voice was soft, though still high pitched._

"_Aww, it was no problem," said Momo, scratching the back of his head. He laughed after feeling Rei's weight on, and then sat down in the grass, feeling the slight dew starting to form. Rei sat down right along with him, and then the two stared up at the sky for a few minutes without saying anything. "Rei?" Said Momo, looking at the girl and making her look at him. "We're always going to be together right? No matter what?"_

_Rei laughed at the questions, and that just put a puzzled look on Momo's face. "Of course we are silly!' She nudged him with her elbow, making the boy laugh. She held up her hand extending her pinky to him. "Pinky promise."_

_Momo made the same gesture and connected their pinkies together. "Pinky promise." Their fingers stayed connected while they laughed, thinking that they would never leave each other. Ever._

End Flashback

He smiled at his daydream, after finally snapping out of it. Rei and him had made a routine of going to the park and sitting on top of the hill at night to watch the stars and the moon. Rei got less worried about her parents finding out about her leaving in the middle of the night for a few hours, and that was a relief on Momo's half. He liked going up there with her. They seemed to be able to communicate with each other better when they were sitting on the hill. Momo sighed, wishing that he could go back to those days. Whishing that he could talk to Rei the way he use to, but he knew that wasn't going to happen, so he shook the thought away as quickly as it came.

Momo looked around his surroundings, realizing that he had made his way to the park. He found that a little weird, but he was also happy about that. He looked up at the sky, deciding that it was a good day to go up to the hill and look at the moon. He hadn't done this in a few years, and honestly he missed doing it. He stopped going to the hill after Rei left; it brought up too many memories of her, and he didn't want to think about it. But this time, he wasn't afraid to go there. But, he was surprised when he saw a figure sitting in the grass at the top of the hill. He thought about turning around and heading back home, thinking that this was a dumb idea, but as he looked closer at the figure, he recognized it. "Rei?" He said, squinting his eyes to get a better look.

The figured jumped slightly, becoming startled form hearing a noise. It turned around, and then widened it's eyes. "Momo? What are you doing here?" Asked Rei, tilting her head slightly.

A smile graced Momo's lips as he walked closer to Rei, sitting down next to her and looked up at the sky. "I could be asking you the same question," he said, looking down from the sky and back at Rei. "It's late out. I'm surprised you aren't asleep."

She laughed. "It being the middle of the night never stopped me from coming here now did it?" An amused smirk crossed her face. "I just thought I'd check this place out. I haven't been here in years, and I missed looking up at the moon."

A chuckle escaped Momo's throat. "The only reason you ever came here was because of me. And if I would have never even showed you this place before, you would have never known about it."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe not. But I'm glad you did show me." This made both of them laugh. Rei shook her head and looked down at the ground. "So, what are you doing here?" She looked back up at him.

"Couldn't sleep. And this was the only place I could think of to come to," said Momo.

Rei nodded her head and then looked back up at the sky. The two stayed silent for a while, feeling contentment by just being in each other's presence and listening to the noises of the crickets. "This place hasn't changed much has it?" Said Rei, breaking the silence.

Momo shook his head. "No, not much has changed around here. But that's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah. That's good." Again they both fell into a silence, not knowing what to say to each other.

"So how have you been? I haven't been able to talk you much since you've come back." It was now Momo's turn to break the silence. Rei told him about how she was the captain of the tennis team that she was on, and she told him about the team. He was impressed, but he didn't show it. She told him about everything she had been through there, and how she had a tough time getting use to everything when she first moved down there. She said that it was a 'scary experience', and it made Momo laugh. "It seems like you've been through a lot," said Momo.

"Yeah I have. But, I've been able to work my way through everything. And the team's been helping me out a lot, especially when I first moved out there. I've known all of them for a while now." She sighed in contentment thinking about her teammates, and it made her smile.

A little pang of jealousy hit Momo as he listened to Rei talk about her team. "You all seem pretty close," he said in a monotone way.

Rei nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, we're all pretty close, and I don't' know what I would do without them." Momo looked at the ground, and when Rei noticed it she wrapped her arms around Momo's arm. He looked at her, surprise evident in his eyes. "But no matter how close they are to me, they could never replace you Momo." Her voice was soft, almost soothing as she looked up at Momo, who looked down at her and gave her a cheeky smile.

"That's good to know!" He said laughing in the process. "I was beginning to think that you had just left me out in the dust to wither away and be forgotten."

"Come on Momo. You know no one could ever replace you, no matter how close I get to anyone. There will always be a place in my heart just for you." Hearing that relieved Momo. He was beginning to worry about being replaced by someone else. But after hearing her, he was reassured that she still thought about him at times. "Besides! How could I replace the person who got me started with tennis?"

He laughed, remembering the first time the two was first introduced to the world of tennis. They grew up playing matches with each other, though half the time they were never able to finish a match. "I hope you wouldn't forget about that. It took me forever to teach you to hit the ball."

"Hey! It didn't take that long for me to be able to actually make contact with the racket and the ball."

"Believe what you want. But I say it took forever." He said it in a confident way, knowing that it would annoy Rei.

"What ever! At least I made it farther than you in the very first tournament we entered."

"You just got lucky that time! The guy I had to verse was huge!"

Rei shook her head, making a 'tisk' noise. "Excuses, excuses. Why won't you just admit that you weren't that good with tennis at the time."

"If I remember right, you weren't able to play very well either," said Momo, tapping his finger on this chin and then laughed after being pushed by Rei. "Hey, I'm only speaking the truth."

Rei rolled her eyes. "What ever." She said, putting a pout on her face and crossing her arms over her chest. Again Momo chuckled. Rei jumped slightly at the feeling of something vibrating in her pocket. She pulled out her phone and looked at the text that was sent to her. "It's Coach Emi," she said, reading the text. It read: '_Rei, get home. Now!'_

She cursed under her breath, quickly standing up and putting her phone back in her pocket. Momo stood up with her, giving her a puzzled look. "I have to get going Momo. Coach figured out that I was gone, and she's going to have my head when I get there."

"I'll walk you home," said Momo, wanting to spend more time with Rei. "These streets can get pretty dangerous at night, and I want to make sure that you make it back safely."

Rei smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you Momo." He said a simple your welcome and then began walking along side of Rei. She told him where Emi, her parents and her were staying at while they were there, and though it was a little ways away, Momo was just happy to be walking with her. "Hey, Momo?"

He looked down at her. "Yeah?"

She didn't say anything for a few minutes. She just continued to stare down at the ground. "Do you ever wish that you could go back in time, and change a few things you did in the past?" She looked up at him, having a serious look on her face.

Momo thought about it. He's never been asked that question before, and he wondered how to answer it. "I don't know," he answered, looking at Rei. "I've never really thought about it before, but I guess I would change a few things if I could. Why do you ask?" Concern was evident in his voice. He wondered where this question had come from.

"I was just wondering," said Rei, looking up at the apartment building that they were approaching. It was the one she was currently staying in, and she sighed looking at it. It was a pretty nice apartment complex though. It was a gated one, and they had high security. That was probably how Emi found out about Rei leaving.

"Would you change anything if you had the chance to?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe." Her voice was low, almost a murmur. Something was wrong, and Momo knew it. He watched Rei grab a card key out of her pocket, and right before she was about to slide it into the slot to open the gate, Momo stepped in front of her path and blocking her way. Rei looked up at Momo, raising an eyebrow at him. "Mo-"

"What would you change if you could then?" He didn't allow her to finish her sentence and staring into her eyes intently.

She looked away, averting his gaze. "I would change my mind about getting so into tennis." She looked at the ground.

"Huh?"

She sighed, finally looking up into Momo's amethyst eyes. "I just wish I wouldn't have gotten so serious about tennis. Because if I hadn't, things would be so much different."

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><p><strong>I hope you liked this chapter! The next one shall be coming soon, hopefully better than the last. ^_^<strong>

**Again, thanks for reading, and please give me constructive criticism if you want to. Or you could just review the story. XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here is chapter three of Their Faithful Encounter! Hope you enjoy it, and please read and review! ^_^**

**Oh, and here's something that I've been forgetting to put in my last chapters: **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Momo stared shocked, at Rei. This was something that he never thought would come out of her mouth. Ever since the two learned how to play tennis, that was all Rei use to talk about. But now she was saying things about her not being serious about it? This was confusing Momo deeply, and it worried him. What did she mean? He shook his head, not losing eye contact with Rei. "I-I don't understand," he replied.

Rei sighed, looking down at the ground so that she wouldn't have to look in Momo's eyes. "I just feel that if I hadn't become to serious about tennis that things would be different." She shrugged her shoulders, making it seem as if the whole situation didn't make much of a difference to her, though she had the complete opposite feeling within her. She looked back up at him, sorrow filled in her eyes. "It doesn't even matter Momo, so let's just forget about it."

When she went to put the card key into it's slot again, Momo continued to block her way. "It does matter Rei!" There was a determined look in his eyes; a look that Rei knew all too well. "What do you mean by that?"

"It doesn't mean anything Momo. It's just a thought, and as I said before, it doesn't matter. We can't change what's already been done." Again a sigh escaped her lips. "I don't even know why I brought this up," she muttered under her breath. This time instead of just trying to get the card into the slot, she pushed Momo out of the way and then inserted it into the slot.

To say the least Momo was a little taken back. Not only because his best friend had pushed him away like he was some freak, but because she wasn't telling him anything. And they use to tell each other everything, but not it seemed as if she was afraid to tell him. When the gate began to open, Rei walked into the complex but then stopped and turned around. "Thanks for walking me home Momo. I'll see you later." But she didn't sound so confident about that.

She began to walk away, and again it reminded Momo of when she walked out of his life all those years ago. "Why are you afraid to tell me what's wrong?" He asked.

The gate had closed behind them, so Momo was holding onto the bard of the iron gates. Rei had stopped walking, but she didn't turn around. "I'm not afraid to tell you anything Momo. There's just nothing to tell you," she answered.

"But there is something for you to tell me! I know you wouldn't just say something like that for no reason. And I could tell that you were serious about what you said, and I know that if it wasn't serious you would have never brought it up."

"And how would you know something like that?" Rei turned around to look at him.

"Because you're my best friend. We know everything about each other right?"

"Momo, you knew the young me. The me that was so naïve about everything, and ignorant of so many things. I've grown up now, and I've changed. I'm not the same person I was so many years ago."

He didn't know what to say. He hadn't been expecting her to say something like that, and it worried him. Was he losing his best friend? Matter of fact, has he already lost her? It scared him to think that because he cared about her, even if she's changed over the years. To him, she's still the same Rei that he knew before. "We use to tell each other everything though? I don't care how much you've changed. We can still do that. So why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

Rei shook her head and then turned back around and started walking off again. "I told you things have changed Momo. And when I say things, I mean everything." And then she disappeared into the darkness. Momo clenched his fist tighter around the bars of the gate as he watched Rei's figure vanish in the dark. '_What's going on Rei?'_ He thought. He stared at the ground, wondering how their night of happiness and recollection turned into a night of sorrow and… Anger.

"Have you really changed that much Rei?" He spoke aloud, though he knew he wouldn't get an answer to the question. He sighed and walked down the road and started toward his house. Even though it was going to take him a while to get there, it didn't bother him. He knew that he wasn't going to get any sleep anyway once he got back home.

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><p>"You was with him wasn't you?" Questioned a very angry Emi as soon as she saw Rei walk into the door of their apartment. Emi was standing in front of the fireplace, just like she had been since she text Rei last. The flames from the fire making Emi's figure seem even more angry.<p>

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Rei, not looking at Emi and heading to her room. Before she could take a step past Emi, Emi grabbed roughly onto Rei's arm and moved her to where the two were standing in front of each other. "Hey!"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about Rei," Emi stated firmly, narrowing her eyes at Rei, "so don't act as if you don't."

Rei gritted her teeth, turning her head away from Emi. "So what if I was," she spat back, "it's not like it makes a difference to you. Now let me go!" She tried to snatch her arm away, but to no avail. Emi wasn't letting go.

"It does make a difference to me Rei!" Emi shot back. "I've told you before that you can't get close to him like you were before, but you go ahead and do something like this? You sneak out in the middle of the night just so that you can see him?"

Rei snapped her head back to face Emi; her eyes flashing with anger. "I didn't even know he was going to be out there Emi, so how can you blame that on me?"

"If you would have never left the apartment in the first place, then this would have never happened."

"What would have never happened?" Rei's hands formed a fist as she spoke.

Emi snorted. "Well for one thing you would have never run into him again."

"How was I suppose to know he was going to be there! All I did was go to the park so that I could have some time to think. Alone! Momoshiro came on his own. I had nothing to do with that! And why are you so concerned about what I do anyway?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt Rei, and I know that's exactly what's going to happen if you continue to see him."

"It's not like I have time to do that anyway. We ran into each other by chance, and I told you before that I'm not going to get hurt."

"That's just what you think."

"No, it's something that I know." Rei stared at Emi intently in the eyes. "It's been years Emi, and things have changed. I've changed, and like I told Momo, I'm not the same little girl." There was a determination in her eyes, and when Emi saw it, she let go of Rei's arm and sighed. Rei rubbed her arm, but continued to look at Emi. "I'm not going to let him get close to me," she said quietly.

"Then prove it Rei," said Emi, giving Rei the same determined look. "Prove to me that you won't let that boy get into your life like he did before."

"How am I going to do that?"

Emi held her hand out toward Rei. "Give me the bracelet."

"What? No way!" Rei took a step back, afraid of what Emi was going to say. Why did she need the bracelet?

Emi sighed and shook her head. "Well then that just proves to me that you aren't really serious about not letting Momo into your life like before." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I knew I shouldn't have brought you here to be in this tournament, especially after I found out where the tournament was going to be taking place in. I knew I should have chosen one of the guys to come instead of you." She started to turn around and head back to her room.

"Wait," said Rei. Emi turned around and looked at Rei while raising an eyebrow at her. "Fine, I'll give you the bracelet if it'll show you that I'm serious." Rei reached into her pocket and pulled out the golden bracelet and handed it to Emi. "What is this going to prove though?"

Emi didn't answer. Instead, she walked back to where she was standing when Rei first walked into the apartment. Rei tilted her head, wondering what Emi was going to do, but when she saw Emi hold the bracelet over the fire, Rei's eyes widened. "What are you doing Emi?" Her voice was shaking when Emi still hadn't answered her. She took a step forward. "Emi don't!"

"I'm sorry Rei," said Emi, looking down into the fire. She let the bracelet go and watched the flames engulf it. "But this will be for your own good."

Rei's eyes widened even wider as she watched the bracelet burn in the flames. She ran over to the fireplace and fell on her knees in front of it. She knew that she wasn't going to get the bracelet out of there now. It was too late. She was trembling as tears filled her eyes, though they never fell on her face. She clenched her hands into a fist as she continued to stare at the fire. But then she turned to Emi, giving her an angry glare. She stood up and grabbed her coach by the collar of her shirt. "How could you do that? She shouted, her hands trembling as she held on to Emi's shirt.

Emi seemed to not be fazed by Rei's reaction to the whole thing. It seemed as if she had expected her to react like this. "I'm sorry Rei, but I had to do that." Her voice was monotone.

The tears in Rei's eyes threatened to fall as she continued to stare at her coach, a disbelieving look in her eyes. "That was the only thing I had left that indicated that us two were friends! Now what do I have?" The tears finally fell down her face, cascading down to her neck. "That bracelet was special to me and you just throw it into the fire like it was a piece of junk!" She started sobbing furiously now, and she let go of Emi's shirt and looked at the ground. The tears stained her face, but they also fell to the ground.

It broke Emi's heart to see her protégé crying like she was. She didn't want to burn the bracelet honestly, but she knew that it was something that she was going to have to do. She regretted what she did. She knew the bracelet was special to Rei. Rei wore that thing everyday, even during matches, and that just showed Emi that Rei cared a great deal for it. But it also showed that she cared a great deal for Momo, and she couldn't have that happing. Not now at least, especially all the things that's been going on with her.

Emi walked closer to Rei and wrapped her arms around her. That just made Rei sob even harder, but she wrapped her arms around her coach, and dug her face into Emi's shoulder. "I'm sorry Rei…" She said again. She rubbed small circles on Rei's back, trying to calm her down. When the sobs stopped, Emi released her hold on Rei and led Rei to her room. "You need to rest up Rei. You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow." Rei just merely nodded her head and walked into her room.

When she closed the door to her arm, Rei walked over to her bed and sat down on it. "I'm sorry Momo…" She said, another tear falling down her face.

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><p>The next morning was a rough one for Momoshiro. Thinking about Rei all night kept him from falling asleep again. Half of then night he thought about what Rei had said to him before she walked to her apartment. All he wanted to know is what she meant by whishing to not have gotten serious with tennis. Momo never believed she would say something like that. '<em>I guess she really has changed,'<em> he thought, sighing. And that was another thing that bothered him. When he first ran into her, and when she was at their practices, she seemed to be her old self. Even when they were sitting on the hill she seemed to be the same. Maybe he was wrong though. Maybe he just didn't notice all the ways that she's changed.

Hearing his alarm clock go off he rolled over to turn it off, but he didn't make a move to get up off the bed. He thought about trying to convince his parents that he was feeling well, and that he didn't want to go to school, but he knew that that would never work. Not with his parents. Ten minutes passed and he still didn't make a move to get up. But he did move when he heard his mother's voice calling him and telling him that he was going to be late if he didn't hurry up.

He lazily got up from his bed and started his daily routine. You could hardly tell that he didn't get any sleep that night. There were no rings or bags under his eyes, and he thought that was a good thing. He didn't want anyone questioning him again, especially not the team or his parents.

Before he walked down the steps he took a deep breath and then stood up straight, and then headed down the stairs. He wanted to act 'normal' in front of his parents. Just so they wouldn't question him like they did the other day. "I'm leaving!" He shouted to his parents, just like he did every morning. He heard his mom shout back a 'have a nice day sweety', and after hearing that, he walked out of the door.

Momo acted like his normal self when he went to go and pick Ryoma up, not wanting to relive the event that happened a few days ago. Ryoma asked why he was late, and Momo just answered by saying that his alarm clock didn't go off. It wasn't true, but Ryoma didn't have to know about that. Arriving at school. Momo dropped Ryoma off at the courts, and then he went to go and lock his bike up. Locking it up, the sunlight glinted off the golden bracelet that he was wearing. He raised his wrist up and stared at it, reading the word that was engraved into it. He sighed. There was something in the back of his mind that bothered him about Rei. Something wasn't right with her, and he knew it. It bothered him that she wouldn't tell him anything, and for some reason he had a feeling that her 'changing'. He knew that there was something deeper than that. And he was determined to figure out what it was. All he had to do was find a way to do so. He just had to get her alone somehow…

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><p>He didn't have a very good time in class at all! He had fallen asleep in his first period class, which explained why he was in the predicament that he was in. He rested his head on his hands while sitting in the desk. Detention wasn't fun at all, and to make it worse, he was the only one in there today. What happened to all the kids that were supposedly always getting detention? He sighed and let his head fall on the desk, making a 'thud' sound echo around the room. "Ouch," he groaned, making the teacher shoot him a look.<p>

'_Oh man;'_ he thought, '_now I'm going to be late for practice. Actually I may even miss it." _He sighed. Tezuka was going to kill him, and he knew it. If anything he would have to run a lot of laps, but that still didn't make him feel any better. He would probably be unable to walk after all those laps. Just thinking about it made him tired. He got to thinking about other things though, not wanting to think about the punishment Tezuka was going to put on him. So, the first thing that popped into his head he thought about it, which just so happened to be Rei. How was he going to get her alone? All he wanted to do was talk to her and see if he could get her to open up to him more. Like they did when they were younger. But unfortunately no ideas came to mind. This made him irritated and gave him a headache. _'Maybe I'll just talk to her when ever I see her again. Hopefully she won't run off…'_

After an hour of sitting in the class, or more like sleeping, he was finally able to leave. He chanted happily in his mind, happy to be out of that class. It was too quite for him, and he hated sitting still for such a long time. He ran to the courts as fast as he could, and he sighed in relief when he saw that the regulars were still practicing. He went to go to the locker rook and change into his clothes, but he stopped when he felt a presence behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks, and turned around slowly. A meek smile stretched across his face as he looked at Tezuka. "O-oh… Hey Tezuka." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"You're late," said Tezuka, his hands crossed over his chest and that same stoic look upon his face.

"Yes, I know that, but I have a reasonable explanation." Momo was trying his best to get Tezuka to let up on his punishment. "You see, I had to stay in detention for a while, but it's not what you think! I did noting wrong for me to deserve to go to detention, so really it wasn't all my fault. All I did was fall asleep and they decided that I needed detention. But I don't think I deserved it!"

Tezuka's facial expression never changed as he listened to Momo try and explain himself as to why he was late. Momo noticed this and laughed nervously. "That's not going to save me from punishment is it?" Tezuka shook his head. Momo sighed, knowing what was coming next.

"Fifty laps around the courts."

"Fifty lap?" Exclaimed Momo, not expecting to get that many laps around.

"Sixty," said Tezuka firmly.

Momo knew to not say anything after that. That would just make his punishment worse, and have him running more laps. He walked into the locker room and changed into his tennis clothes. He started on his laps after coming out of the locker room. He heard some of the regulars saying a few things, and he wished that he was out there on the courts with them instead of running around the courts and doing laps.

By the time the sun started to set and all the regulars had already started home. Well, that is except one regular, who just so happened to be Momo's rival, other wise known as Kiadoh. Momo was leaned over trying to catch his breath when Kiadoh came over to Momo and dropped a towel over his head. "Hey!" Momo snapped, standing up straight and glaring at Kiadoh.

"I'm trying to help you out," Kaidoh hissed.

Momo didn't say anything for a minute. "Thanks." Me muttered, wiping his face with the towel. "What are you doing here any way Viper? Should you be home playing with your snake of something,?"

Kaidoh's eyebrow twitched in agitation as he hissed at Momo. He didn't answer his rivals question though, not wanting to say anything at the moment. Momo didn't feel like arguing at the moment anyway, so he was a little relieved that that he wasn't going to arguer with Viper right now. "Momo!"

Momo turned in the direction in which he heard his name being called. When he saw Coach Ryuzaki running toward them. He looked at Kaidoh and then at back at Ryuzaki. She was panting slightly when she made it over to them, and Momo was worried that something was wrong. "Coach Ryuzaki, is something wrong?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Momo, it's Rei," she said, looking him in the eye.

Now he was worried, especially since Rei's name came into it. He could feel his heart quicken, and it wasn't because of all the running that he had done. Sweat was beginning to form on his forehead as well. "What's wrong with her?"

Ryuzaki didn't say anything for a while, and that just worried Momo even more. But when she finally did talk, it seemed as if everything around him had stopped. "Momo, Rei's in the hospital."

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><p><strong>Well how did you like this chapter? Let me know in a review please! ^_^<strong>

**The next chapter should be coming up very soon, and hopefully it'll be just as good as this chapter. Maybe even better. Until next time! And thanks for reading!**


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